I send a semi-daily email delivering insights into leadership in exponential times. For entrepreneurs, corporate irritants and change makers. Raw, unfiltered and opinionated. It is called The Heretic and here is the dispatch from 2013-11-29:

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LET’S TALK ABOUT PITCHING

Let’s get serious for a moment: You’re getting ready to apply for funding. Be it from an angel, a VC, a grant for your non-profit or money from friends & family. You know that one of the most common and important ways to get funding is the fabled pitch. And with each pitch comes a pitch deck. You’ve read Guy Kawasaki’s advice on pitch decks. You’ve talked to folks who have walked in your shoes before. You’ve prepared, revised, practiced your pitch over and over again. You know your stuff and feel prepared. Good!

And here’s the number one mistake I see happen over and over again: Instead of investing the extra hour to make sure the pitch and deck is customized toward the person you’re pitching to, people use the same standard pitch over and over again. The pitch becomes bland, the investor doesn’t understand why he’s the one and thus why he should bother investing his money.

Designing a pitch or presentation without an audience in mind is like writing a love letter and addressing it, “To Whom It May Concern”.

Research your investor, figure out what is unique about them and why you want to work with them. Make this utterly clear in your pitch — your pitch should be a love letter, not a standard mailing.